In the final instalment of the 'Pitch Perfect' series, members of the college a cappella group The Bellas are taking on life as graduated adults... And finding out it's not all it's cracked up to be.
When an opportunity arises for them to reunite for a USO tour, they jump at the chance and hop on a plane together straight away to begin their last hurrah as a group.
Starring all the ladies that audiences have grown to love over the last two films (including, of course, Australia's own Rebel Wilson), 'Pitch Perfect 3' feels like a warm hug as much as its predecessors. It's a film that aims to celebrate music, love and the power of women and does so wonderfully.
Image © Universal Pictures
The creatives have added a lot more action and depth into this finale, and it works as they pull off that classic method of instantly throwing the audience into a chaotic and unexplained scene of drama before freeze-framing and taking it back several weeks, to see where it all began. There are many ways to grab viewers but this one guarantees engagement from the get-go. Without revealing too much there's also a hysterical fight scene starring Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) that more than tops the famous vomiting disaster moment from the original film.
Anna Kendrick deserves a mention on her own, simply for being the blazing, bright centrepiece of 'Pitch Perfect' that has been there since movie one to showcase not only her insane acting skills but also how to sing... Damn well.
The new-found complexity of 'Pitch Perfect 3' doesn't just show itself in the plot. In a series where music and themes of empowerment took a front seat it was difficult to see more than just the surface of The Bellas but in this film – rather fittingly, since it's the last – we finally learn more about some of the characters who were previously a lot more guarded and less three-dimensional than others.
It's this depth, in fact, that creates one of the film's major story arcs. It's genuinely great to witness something a little more complex than competitive singing affecting the girls this time around.
With a variety of catchy new tracks to sing along to – including the famous Universal Pictures a cappella fanfare that this time around melts into a Britney Spears classic – and shiny cast additions like Ruby Rose and DJ Khaled (playing himself), 'Pitch Perfect 3' hits all the high notes that the finale of a trilogy should hit.
Image © Universal PicturesThere's a satisfying amount of closure from not just the events in this instalment but also things that have taken place in the last two, delicately placing a ripe cherry on top of a wildly successful series loved across the globe.
